I was a full time student working part time at a medical facility. I had worked late the night before. I was in bed asleep on 09/11/01 when the phone rang. It was my sister calling from work. I remember looking at the clock. It was exactly 9:15am. She said “get up and turn the television on.” “Two commercial jets were flown into both WTC towers.” “They think it might be a terrorist attack.” I jumped up and turned on the TV. I sat watching that news all day as they flipped back and forth between the WTC towers and the Pentagon. During all of this, a past conversation with someone came to my mind. I used to work for a corporation headquartered in Atlanta. I had accounts all over the U.S. One of my accounts had been particularly hard to reach for several weeks. Weeks later, when someone did pick up, I remember asking the lady why no one had been answering their phones. She said because we are located in one of the WTC towers. The parking deck had been bombed by terrorists. Employees had to wait for the building to be declared safe before they could go back to work. I don’t think I realized at the time that they were located in one of the towers. I was really young and didn’t watch much of the news back then. I did remember that parking deck bombing but had no idea how significant it would really be years later. That failed attempt had prompted the attack on 09/11/01. As I sat watching the two towers fall, I thought back to that lady. I believe she worked for an insurance group called AIGH (might not be correct). I sat wondering if she still worked there and if so, did she make it out alive? I unfortunately don’t remember her name. I do remember not wanting it to get dark that day because I didn’t want to turn the television off and go to bed. I remember feeling very emotional, scared, excited,angry and horrified. I don’t personally know anyone that died that day because of the attacks, but I did have a coworker who called his son that morning. The son worked in one of the Towers. My coworker was relieved when he heard his son’s voice. The son was very apologetic saying sorry dad I know I’m supposed to be at work, but I worked very late last night. I’m going in late today. My coworker told his son, “I don’t think so.” He said get up and look out your window at the towers. So, I do have a coworker whose family member survived because he had worked late the night before. Some people say things happen for a reason. Not sure….
I remember that day as if it happened in my own backyard and it was yesterday. Though I was hundreds of miles away, I’ll never forget the site of that plane hitting the tower or the people that were jumping out of the towers’ from hundreds of stories up. It’s burned into my brain and I won’t ever forget it.